Out & About #787 | Week #100 Quarantine Update Feat. Hoddeok Ver. 2

If my involuntary, trauma-inflicted exile from society hadn't been reported explicitly enough in the past weeks, this was the period to declare it all. Surfacing without premonition was an overwhelming outpour of distress - suppressed worries, stresses, and weeks of sleepless nights. It came across as unexpected to everyone but myself.

The bottleneck effect should have foreshadowed such a breakdown, and, in hindsight, I ought to have reached for the lotion tissues I stocked so fervently during 2019's cold season and never used again (thankfully). No amount of ranting could offset the pain. I was left to wallow in a vortex of my own thoughts while pondering the most appropriate steps for action.

Creations of the week included:

1) Hoddeok Ver. 2

Having depleted the first batch quicker than anticipated, I set out to craft another octet - this time venturing into a modified batter with glutinous rice flour. The inclusion had been declared necessary for a dose of chewiness by a certain un-recallable source. About 20 g of flour was swapped out from Maangchi's original formula for the gluten-free stabilizer to test the allegation.

A wetter dough resulted from the modification; it gave way to more rise, more dampness, and impressive gluten formation despite the reduction in flour. However, it also resulted in tighter, lighter wads of dough. The weight of Maangchi's recipe had average 82 g per piece, yet this iteration produced smaller portions of 62 g. The final rounds also proved less elastic, which had initially entailed concerns over filling escape.

With walnuts on hand, I also opted to swap out the toasted sesame seeds with toasted, finely-chopped pieces of the edible seed. Admittedly, they weren't as aromatic, though supplied a nice, subtle crunch.​

Fonder feelings were assigned to the unaltered variation. That said, research will be conducted in parallel with users of the premix packages to identify a ratio capable of delivering both crunch and chew to hoddeok lovers across the nation. I was also made aware of a green tea adaptation, though am likely to refrain from attempting until mastery of the original dough.

2) Coconut Crunch Cupcakes

​With an itch for cupcakes and discovery of month-old fine shredded coconut, I sought stress relief from construction of bite-sized coconut cake. The guideline adhered to Sunday Baking's Sandcastle Cake with Coconut Milk, which had been utilized previously for the base of a Yuzu Lime Mousse Cake. This earlier experiment substituted granulated sugar for sweetened condensed milk, simply since it was on hand. By reverting to a solid sweetener, the cake gained not only an airy profile but also structure. I had reduced the quantity to 100 g (for half the cake recipe), but the effects of proper aeration were witnessed nonetheless. Less aromatic but also less dense, the cupcakes were buttery, uniform in texture, and absolutely scrumptious.

​I had also taken to blitzing an unmeasured portion of fine shredded coconut with sugar for a crunchy topping. In fear that the components would not adhere, a whole egg was incorporated, leading to a rather chunky mixture that could be pressed onto the tops of the batter. Excess topping was spread thinly and baked separately. Consumed by itself, the texture was quite dismal: soft and structure-less, albeit very coconut-y.

​When combined with the cupcake base, however, the result was phenomenal. Plush, indulgent, and positively fragrant, I received nothing but praise in response to the golden, palm-sized invention. The tops were crunchy, though that hadn't mattered in an overall consumption sense.

Other items ingested include homemade fish soup with spinach, Waterloo Brewing's Pineapple Radler, and leftovers from cooking endeavours beyond my own - for who has time in today's work-from-home slave society?

​I reached for Lindt's Strawberries & Cream truffles to satisfy sugar cravings, and was pleasantly surprised to find the white chocolate less imposing than most others. The encased strawberry truffle filling was fruity, with coarse bits for texture.

Friday evening saw precipitation - a rainy start to the weekend that rendered benches unfit for shoe swaps. For the first time ever, I would shift into skates while standing.

​Celebration Square was decidedly quieter than the weekend afternoons of past visits, meaning speedier laps about the rink.

Approximately one hour later, when our ankles were ready to terminate the session, I proposed a treat to seal the evening on a sweet note. CoCo had been the original suggestion; pulling into the plaza, my gaze could not stray from Baskin Robbins.

A Single Brownie in a Sugar Cone and Double Scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip and Pistachio Almond in a Waffle Cone graced our fingertips. Back into the now-desolate-and-frosty lands we would return, for mask removal was not permitted within the store.

​It was likely against my better judgement to devour the cones amidst blistering winds. The flavours were delicious, though the urgency to demolish them was stifling.​

Sunday morning saw my second post-lockdown visit to Studio Bon. We started with a familiar warmup series on the Bosu ball - a set that would foreshadow the rest of the class's exercises:

• Marches (x20)
• Running (x20)
• Single leg "flys"
• Lunges

With greater emphasis on core work than the previous week, we took to revisiting fundamentals on the Reformer. Each exercise stemming from the tabletop position and increasing subsequently in difficulty level. We commenced with tabletop knee dips, next 45 degree leg extension, then crunches, and lastly tabletop crunches with 45 degree leg extensions and a final five-second hold on the last rep. These were, thankfully, very familiar to me, thus prompted training via endurance (sustained form).

Glute bridges ensued on the Reformer with a loosely inflated ball placed between the knees for inner thigh engagement. First came slow bridges with articulation of the spine, then an interesting move where one would push out against footbar, using the soles of the feet, keeping the ball in between knees for inner thighs/legs. Switching to flexed foot position and placing the heels on the footbar, we executed several raised bridge pulses before countering the contraction with Figure-4 stretches.

With Reformer Box in the Long Box position, we navigated to the neck and back muscles.

1. In an almost superman position on long box, legs were lifted to hip height and maintained. Only the upper back was engaged to lift the head without scrunching the neck. The gaze was kept natural with the chin lifted slightly to counter excessive drooping due to regular desk work.
2. With hands looped through straps, arms were pulled back to the hips in a linear motion (no Snow Angel arms) for further engagement of the upper back. I was instructed to pull further, which drew attention to my limited range of motion and upper body strength.
3. In the same lying positions with the elbows bent, tricep extensions were conducted - a burning sensation indeed.

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These movements were counteracted with spinal rotations with arms extended in airplane mode. The hips were to stay facing the front of the room, with only the trunk rotating as to provide relief for tense arounds surrounding the shoulders and neck, and along the spine/upper to mid back.

​Our class instructor is known to be a certified thigh killer. Her title was validated once more in our final series of lunges.
With the Long Box placed on the ground beside the Reformer, one foot was placed on the Carriage while the other atop the Reformer Box. Feet were spaced out at hip distance. The foot on the Carriage rested against the closest shoulder rest, leg extended. The leg on the Long Box was bent slightly, and the body hinged forward with a neutral spine. Maintaining extension of the leg (and attempts to prevent rotation in the pelvis), the standing leg was bent and straightened while maintaining extension of the leg on the Carriage. A variation then ensued, with the leg on the Long Box fixed in a bent position for stability and leg on the Carriage bent and extended to solidify isolation of the static leg.

A hip stretch with the legs crossed on the Carriage was used to counter the contraction.

Jasmine Milk Tea with Pudding was procured as a post-pilates reward. "Get fit and get fat" as ochungg had humourously declared.

​Eye masks had been bestowed upon me in response to my endless grievances over burning eyeballs and damaged vision, and I, somewhat dubiously, took to unveiling the soft, floral-patched towards the end of the weekend. Having only been half-listening when instructions were provided, placed the satchet into the microwave in an effort to activate its warming properties. Little had I known that the pouches would activate once exposed to oxygen, similar to the hand-warming pouches I frequently carry for outdoor activities. Within seconds, a spark could be seen from within, followed by black, burnt patches, and a lamentable veil of thick smoke. I sprung open the microwave door to reveal more smoke, along with a foul stench that permeated both first and second floors of the household.

We suffered the ashen odour for the following week, staying vigilant for dark particles unleashed through condensation.